ScienceDaily: Matter & Energy News

ESA experimental spaceplane completes research flight Posted: 11 Feb 2015 08:11 AM PST An experimental vehicle to develop an autonomous European reentry capability for future reusable space transportation has completed its mission. ESA's Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle flew a flawless reentry and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean just west of the Galapagos islands.

Light reveals new details of Paul Gauguin's creative process Posted: 14 Feb 2015 03:45 PM PST French artist Paul Gauguin is well known for his colorful paintings, but he also was a highly experimental printmaker. Little is known, however, about how he created his complex graphic works. Now a team of scientists and art conservators has used a light bulb, an SLR camera and computational power to uncover new details of Gauguin's process -- how he formed, layered and re-used imagery to make 19 unique graphic works.

In silico method to predict effectiveness of cognitive enhancers Posted: 13 Feb 2015 07:47 AM PST Scientists have published new research into personalizing nootropic drugs using in silico prediction methods.

Seeing through sparklers: What happens to heat-treated diamonds Posted: 13 Feb 2015 07:46 AM PST Diamonds come in all colors with price tags to match -- ice-white, blue and pink attract high prices and stones with brown hues the least. But now that brown diamonds can be heat-treated to remove the darker color to produce near-perfect colorless gemstones, can consumers tell the difference?

Traffic management not effective enough: Many drivers do not choose the fastest route Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:50 AM PST Research has shown that many road users do not choose the shortest or fastest route. In some situations, this applies to no less than 75% of road users. There are several reasons for this, including force of habit, no need because the old choice is satisfactory, a too small perceptible gain in travel time, or not constantly wanting or able to keep track of all changes. To improve the control of traffic, the existing traffic management systems can be used more effectively.

Mixing plant waste and plastic to obtain building materials Posted: 12 Feb 2015 03:50 AM PST A new company has intertwined the science of chemical engineering and technology to recycle all kinds of useless plastics and tequila agave bagasse similar to wood, but with greater resistance used as formwork in the construction industry or in the manufacture of benches, tables and chairs.

New insight into how rubber is made could improve tires, reduce air pollution Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:40 AM PST People have been making rubber products from elastic bands to tires for centuries, but a key step in this process has remained a mystery.Scientists have now described this elusive part of rubber production that could have major implications for improving the material and its uses. Their findings, if used to improve tire performance, for example, could mean higher gas mileage for consumers and less air pollution.

Novel high-power microwave generator Posted: 11 Feb 2015 09:40 AM PST High-power microwaves are frequently used in civil applications, such as radar and communication systems, heating and current drive of plasmas in fusion devices, and acceleration in high-energy linear colliders. They can also be used for military purpose in directed-energy weapons or missile guidance systems. In a new study scientists demonstrate that their proposed novel method, which is capable of producing such microwaves, offers a viable alternative to traditional approaches.

New method to understand steel fracturing Posted: 11 Feb 2015 05:32 AM PST Researchers have visualized step-by-step and on a microscopic level how certain steels fracture when extreme loads are applied to them. This could help to improve these materials, which are used in the automobile industry.

Nonlinear resonance disaster in the light of ultrashort pulses Posted: 11 Feb 2015 05:32 AM PST Ultrashort light pulses from modern lasers enable temporal resolution of even the fastest processes in molecules or solid-state materials. For example, chemical reactions can, in principle, be traced down to the 10-fs time scale (1 femtosecond (fs) = 10-15  s). Ten femtoseconds correspond to a few oscillation cycles of the light field itself. Nevertheless, there is a class of optical processes that does not exhibit any measurable delay relative to the ultrafast light oscillation and which has been termed "instantaneous". This class of processes includes nonlinear optical harmonic generation at multiple frequencies of the input field. This process is commonly used to generate the green light of laser pointers from invisible infrared light. These processes are normally used far away from a resonance to avoid losses.

CERN experiment brings precision to a cornerstone of particle physics Posted: 11 Feb 2015 05:31 AM PST The COMPASS experiment at CERN reports a key measurement on the strong interaction. The strong interaction binds quarks into protons and neutrons, and protons and neutrons into the nuclei of all the elements from which matter is built. Inside those nuclei, particles called pions made up of a quark and an antiquark mediate the interaction. Strong interaction theory makes a precise prediction on the polarisability of pions – the degree to which their shape can be stretched. This polarisability has baffled scientists since the 1980s, when the first measurements appeared to be at odds with the theory. New result is in close agreement with theory.

Numerous bats killed by German wind turbines: Migratory bats at risk Posted: 10 Feb 2015 06:18 PM PST Numerous bats are killed by German wind turbines. The number of such turbines, already very high, is planned to be increased further. More than two-thirds of bats being killed by wind turbines on German ground are migrants on their way between summer and winter habitats. Due to its geographical location in Europe, Germany has consequently a central responsibility for the conservation of migratory bats.

Process for synthesizing a new family of molecules with dye properties Posted: 10 Feb 2015 05:38 AM PST Researchers have developed an innovative method for synthesizing new dyes with a new family of indolizine molecules, which has uncovered a more efficient synthetic route.